Method for handling a flexible strip



J..A.'DE VILBISS.. METHOD Foa HANDLING A FLEXIBLE sIIIIP.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2, 1919.

Patented Oct. 24, 1922.

m1111011 c A Patented @et 24, l.

aan iai Uitlllhd@ TTES .FTENT JOHN A. DE VILBISS, OF ST. LOUIS, MSSOURI,ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO DE VILBSS ENDLESS FILM MACHINECOMPANY, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

.METHOD FOR HANDLING A FLEXIBLE STRIP.

Application filed June 2,

To @EZ ywhom t may 00m-ern.'

Be itlrnown that l, Jol-IN A. DE ViLBiss, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvementin Methods Al'or Handling a Flexible Strip, ot' whichthe following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malre and usethe same.

This invention. relates to devices of the character that areused forstoring a flat record strip of flexible material that is adapted to bevfed from a source of supply,

coiled to bring itinto a reduced space and held ready for uncoiling andreuse at will.` One object of lmy invention is to provide a method ofhandling `a strip of flexible material which makes it possible t-o :teeda relatively long, continuous, flat strip off of and onto a rotatablesupport-ing device on which the major portion of the strip is wound toform a source of supply.

Another object is to provide a method of handling a strip of iiexiblefmaterial which makes it possibile to draw a strip from a` source otsupply consisting of numerous coils or loops of the strip Withoutgradually diminishing the diameter or circumference of the source ofsupply, thereby enabling a strip to be ted intermittently a denitedistance at each step by means ot a feeding mechanism that acts directlyon the device that supports the major portion of the strip constituting`the source of supply.

Another object is to provide a device for supporting a Flexible stripwhich is so constructed that a flat flexible strip can be wound ontosame edgewise and maintainedI in operative position with ythe coils orloops oit' the strip extending parallel to each other and disposed atright angles or substantially so to the surface ot' the device on whichthe strip is wound.

And still another object 'is' to provide an eilicient apparatus forhandling a liat, continuous band or flexible strip of relatively greatlength that is adapted to be i'ed con tinuousl'y or intermittently.@ther objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafterpointed out. y f c My method, broadly stated, consists in winding al datstrip of flexible material edgewise onto a rotatable supporting deviceland maintaining the coils or loops of the 1919. Serial UNO. 301,235.

stripin parallel relation to each other in a position at right angles orsubstantially so to the portion of the device on which the stripisWound. My method can be used successfully for handling strips oi'various kinds otA material and the supporting device that carries themajor portion of the strip constituting the source oit supply can beformed in numerous ways without departing from the spiritl oi' myinvention. 'l have herein illustrated my method used for handling atia-t strip consist-ing of a. film such as is used in moving picturemachines, but this is onlyvone of numerous purposes for which my methodcan be successfully used. Moreover, while l haver herein illustrated mymethod used for handling a continuous strip in the form of an endlessband that is fed off of and onto a supporting device simultaneously, itis immaterial, so far as my broad idea is concerned, whether the striphas two ends or is in the form of an endless band. The apparatus hereinillustrated for practicing my method is designed lfor use in movingpicture projecting machines for handling a continuous film or picturestrip, but the general construction and principle of operation of saidapparatus is applicable to devices for supporting various other kinds otflat lexible strips.

Figure l of the drawings is a side elevationalview of an apparatusconstructed in accordance with my invention for handling a relativelylong, continuous strip or endless band that is adapted to be fed to orthrougl a mechanism which acts on the strip oi' with which the stripco-operates. y

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view of' a portion of the stripcarrier, taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l. y

Figure 3, is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, taken on the line3*-3 of Figure l., illustrating the construction of the spreading devicethat is combined with the strip guide at the lower side of the stripcarrier.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view of the strip guide,taken on the line 4 4 of Figure l; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 5-5oiC Figure l, illustrating the guiding` device at the upper side of thestrip carrier over which the strip passes as it is unwinding from saidcarrier.

Referring to the drawings which illus Zontally disposed shaft l andprovided with ticing my method, A designates aflat strip of flexiblematerial in the form of' an endless band, and B designates a rotatablesupporting device or carrier onto which said strip isv wound. instead ofwindingthe strip A onto the device B flatwise so as to form a number ofsuperimposed coils or loops, as is now the universal method of winding aflat flexible strip onto a supporting device, l wind the strip A ontothe device B edgewise so as to form numerous coils or loops that arearranged parallel to each other and which are disposed at right anglesor substantially so to trie vportion oi the deviceA B onto which thestripy is wound. rl'he particular construction of the strip `carrier Bis immaterial, but it is-essential that said carrier be of sufficientdiameter to permit thestrip to be wound onto same edgewise withoutdisrupt-v ing the'sti'ipor stretching it'out of shape.

.In using my method for handling a strip consisting et a iilm such as isusedin moving picture machinesg l have lfound that the film can besuccessfully wound edgewise on to` a rotatable carrier or ,supportingdevice provided with a rim portion live or sixvfeet in diameter.

The strip carrier B herein illustrated consists of a wheel rotatablymounted on a horia flatrim'portion 2. rlhe strip A is wound edgewiseonto said rim portion 2 so to form numerous parallel coils or loops thatare vdisposed at right angles or substantially so to the rim portion 2,and mea-ns is provided for confining the coils of the strip in operativeposition on said rim portion. The means herein illustrated for thispurpose consists oit a side flange on one edge of said rim portion and aring shaped member 4tsurrounding said rim portion and arranged inparallel relation tothe side iiange 3, 'said ring shaped member a beingmounted in such a manner that it can be adjusted laterally towards andaway from the side flange 3, so as tov adapt the strips of differentlengths. To wind the strip A onto the ca rier B the ring shaped member lis first arranged in close proxim ity t0 the side flange B and the endof the strip is then inserted edgewise between the flange 3 and themember Ll and temporarily attached to said member l in any preferredmanner. rlfhe strip carrierlis then revolved so as to wind the' stripedgewise onto the rim portion 2 of the carrier betweenthe two parts 3and a that hold the coils or loops of the strip in parallel relation andat right angles to the rim portion 2. During the operation of windingthe strip onto the carrierv the ring shaped member d is moved laterallyaway from the side flange 3 so as to increase the space that receivesthe portion of the strip constituting the source of carrier B to supply.-Any suitable means can be used for moving the ring `shaped member 4etowards and away from the side flange 3, such, 'forexample, as screws 5adjustably mounted in a flange i3? or in' bearings on the rimportion'Q'ot the carrier and connected at their inner -ends to the ringshaped member et in such a manner that when said screws are turned inone direction the member a will be movedtowards the side flange 3, andwhen said screws are turned in the opposite direction, said member 4twill be moved away from the side flange 3.

By arranging the' strip on the carrier B in this manner lam able toconfine a strip of' relatively great length in a compact space and canfeed or draw thestrip from the carrier without gradually .diminishingthe diameter or circumference ofthe source ot supply. lhis feature ofbeing able to draw a strip from a source of supply without graduallyrdiminishing the ,diameter ror circum-c erenceofthe source of supplymakes it possible to feed the strip intermittently a definite distanceateach step by means of a feeding mechanism that acts directly on thereel, carrier or device that supports the source of supply from whichthe strip. `is drawn, `a

thing that is not `possible when a strip is wound flatwise onto' a reelor rotatable supporting device, due to the fact that the diam-v roller6, then through the projecting apparat t-us of a moving picture machine,designated as an' entirety by the-reference character C, and thencerearwardly from a guide roller 6L to the strip carrier B. The stripis'acted upon by a feedingmechanism 7, and the guide rollers and overwhich the strip passes are so disposed that t-he strip A will bepresented in a flatcondition to the projecting apparatus through whichthe strip passes. ln the appara-tus herein illustrated a stationaryguiding device D is arranged in proXimit-yto the stripucarrier B so asto twist thestrip fromv4 a horizontal into a vertical position as it isbeing rewound onto the carrier, it being understood "that the ends ofthe strip are connected together after the strip has been wou-nd ontothe carrier and the strip thereafter detached trom the member Llso as to'form a continuous band or belt that leads from the upper side of thestrip carrierfto or through the means that -llO actsv onthe strip orwith which the strip cooperates, and thence back to the lower side i ofsaid carrier.v The guiding device D consists of a stationary, guidewaydesigned in such a manner that it will cause the strip to twistgradually from a horizontal into a vertical position in travelingthrough same, and tension rollers y8 combined with said guideway in sucha manner that the strip travels between said tension rollers just beforethe strip passes onto the rim portion 2 of the strip carrier B, saidtension rollers operating to keep the strip taut. The :tront end portionof the guideway D is flared, as shown in Figure 4, but the rear endportion 9 of said guidevvay is of substantially channel shape in crosssection-and of approx* limatelyv the same dimensions as the crosssection of the strip, as shown in Figure 2. The channel shaped portionof the guiding device D extends under the rim portion 2 of the stripcarrier and is arranged in sutliciently close proximity to the sideflange 3 on said rim portion to insure the strip A being fed edgewiseonto the rim portion of the carrier and flat against the inner side ofthe side liange 3 on the carrier. ln orde-r to spread the strip awayfrom the side flange 3, and thus form a space. for the portion of thestrip that is being rewound onto the carrier B, I have provided thestationary guiding device D with a spreading member 10 having a sharpfront end which is disposed in suthciently close proximity to the innerside of the llange 3 on the carrier B to force the strip laterally awayfrom said ange, as shown in Figure 3, and thus provide a space for theportion of the strip that passes from the channel shaped part 9 ot' theguiding device D onto the strip carrier. The rim portion 2 of thecarrier onto which the strip is wound edgewise. is preferably ofgreatest diameter adjacent. the side flange 3 or is tapered slight-ly ormade slightly cone shaped, as shown in Figure 2, so as to cause theco-ils or loops of the strip constituting the source of supply to creepor work laterally towards the ring shaped member 4 on the carrier as thestrip is fed ofi of and onto the carrier. I also prefer to arrange astationary sharp edged guiding device ll at the upper side of thecarrier B in close proximity to the inner side of the member l so as toforce the strip away from said member t as the strip is unwinding fromthe carrier.

An apparatus of the general construction and principle of operationabove described can be used for handling various kinds of strips, eithera strip having two ends or a continuo-us strip. It is particularlyadapted for use in a moving picture projecting machine, however, owingto the fact that it enables an endless film or picture strip ofrelatively great length to be confined in a small space and run thro-ughthe machine @all time after time by'simply .continuing the film` feedingmechanism in operation.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire tosecure by Let ters Patent, is :3.

l. The method of storing a iat record strip or iilm of flexible materialhaving normally parallel edges of substantially equal lengtli,whichconsists in winding the same upon a rotatable support with its flatfaces at asubstantial angle tothe axis of winding and forming it intocoils in a series extending Vin the direction o' the axis of windv` ingand in condition to be unwound for reuse.

2. T he method of receiying, storing, and returning for reuse aliatrrecord strip or film of flexible material having normally paralleledges of substantially equal length which consists in winding the striponto a rotatable supporting member, and forming it into a helix with itscoils in a series extending` in the ldirection of the axis of winding,with the coils parallel to each other and disposed substantially atright angles to the portion of the device onto which the strip is wound,and paying off the coils by unwinding from the end of the helix oppositeto that at which they are wound on;

3. The method of storing record strips of thin flexible material havingnormally parallel edges of substantially equal length,

which consists in winding the strip edge wise upon a rotatable support,and forming it into a helix whose coils extend in series in thedirection of the axis of winding, and confining said coils in thedirection of said axis with freedom of unwinding from said support.

et. The method of storing and paying out tor reuse av record strip ofthin flexible material having normally parallel edges of substantiallyequal length, which consists in windingthe strip edgewise about an axisof rotation, forming it into coils extending in series in the directionof the axis of winding, and, after developing a helix of such coils,continuing the winding on at one end and simultaneous winding oliF1 atthe' other end of such helix.

5. rlhe method of storing a at flexible record strip having normallyparallel edges of substantially equal length, characterized by feedingthe strip to and winding it edgewise onto a rotatable device betweenconfining portions on said device that maintain the strip againsttipping and `in a position substantially at right angles to the portionot the device on which the strip is wound.

6. The method of receiving, storing, and paying out a ilat transverselyflexible strip of record nlm having normally parallel edges ofsubstantially equal length, characterized by winding the strip edgewiseinto coils upon a rrotatable device so as to form ail source ofsupplymaintaining the coils against l tipping upon; said rotatabledevice and simultaneously feeding the strip off ot said device; thecoils of the strip being caused to 1j ove gradually in the directionoilthe axis olI rotation of said device from the pointo't Winding on tothepointoi feeding off. y

v7. hernethod of receiving, storing, and pavingv off a flatV flexiblestrip of record film in vthe forni of an endless helt or continuoushandhaving normally parallel edges of substantially equal length,characterized by conining the main body of film in the 'forni of a helixof coils Wound edgevvise in a series extending in the direction of theaxis of the helix,y and simultaneo-uslyv feeding the film off of andontosaid helix at opposite ends thereof. Y

8. The method of handling7 lin the form of a vcontinuous hand, a flatflexible strip having lsides substantially parallel and of equal length,characterized by Winding the major portion ol'said strip on a rotatablesupporting device in such a manner that the coils of the strip arearranged parallel to each other and at an angle to the axis of rotationof said device, and feeding the strip olf of said device; to or througha means that acts on the strip or with which the strip cooperates andthen back to said supporting device. v

`7' JOHN A. DE viLBiss.

